Tributes have been paid to a retired Gurkha and father after a body was found during a search for a missing man.

Bhakta Bahadur Tamang, who lived in Folkestone, went missing at the weekend.

He was last seen by his family at 1pm on Saturday.

His disappearance sparked a mass search operation by emergency services in the town over the weekend.

During the hunt, a body was discovered on the beach near the Leas Cliff Hall the following day.

Police were called to the scene shortly before 8am on Sunday morning.

Formal identification has not yet taken place, but the family of Mr Tamang are aware.

Friends and relatives of the pensioner say he was a 'cheerful and active member of the Nepalese community'.

Mr Tamang was retired from British Gurkha Army.

The 77-year-old's military career spanned between 1959 to 1970, where he served in the Queens Gurkha Engineers.

A spokesman for the Folkestone Nepalese Community said: "He was cheerful, loyal and an active member of the Folkestone Nepalese Community.

"He participated in each and every Nepalese community gathering and programme, and supported the community as much as he could."

He had lived in Folkestone for 12 years, moving here in October 2006 from the city of Dharan in Nepal.

Mr Tamang lived with his wife Gauri Maya Tamang, his youngest daughter Renu Tamang and youngest son Bipen Tamang.

He has other three other children still living in Nepal.

They are his eldest daughters Mina and Manju Tamang, and his eldest son Suraj Tamang.

His death is not being treated as suspicious.